Economy: Employment Situation Report for March 2022

The Employment Situation Report for March 2022 was released by The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning:

Nonfarm Payrolls (month-to-month change)
Actual: +431,000
Predicted: +400,000

Previous Month (Revised): 750,000
One Year Previous: 704,000

U-3 Unemployment Rate (Headline)
Actual: 3.6%
Previous Month: 3.8%
12 Months Previous: 6.0%

U-6 Unemployment Rate*
Actual: 6.9%
Previous Month: 7.2%
12 Months Previous: 10.7%

Average Hourly Earnings (month-to-month change)
Predicted: +0.5%
Actual: +0.411% (+$0.13)

Average Hourly Earnings (year-on-year change)
Predicted: +3.5%
Actual: +5.56% (+$1.67)

Average Weekly Earnings (month-to-month change)
Actual: +0.122% (+$1.34)

Average Weekly Earnings (year-on-year change)
Actual: +4.65% (+$48.77)

Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate: 62.4%
Previous Month: 62.3%
12 Months Previous: 61.5%

Average Workweek
Predicted: 34.7 hours
Actual: 34.6 hours

Economist, academics, central bankers and investors pay very close attention to the monthly Employment Situation report as it offers penetrating insight as to the current and near-future state of the overall U.S. economy. If a) Americans are earning more money and b) the economy is creating new jobs, this typically translates to more money being pumped into the economy (and vice versa.)

The "predicted" figure is what economists were expecting, while the "actual" is the true or real figure.

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From Today's Report:

"...In March, 10.0 percent of employed persons teleworked because of the coronavirus pandemic, down from 13.0 percent in the prior month. These data refer to employed persons who teleworked or worked at home for pay at some point in the 4 weeks preceding the survey specifically because of the pandemic.

In March, 2.5 million persons reported that they had been unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic -- that is, they did not work at all or worked fewer hours at some point in the 4 weeks preceding the survey due to the pandemic. This measure is down from 4.2 million in the previous month. Among those who reported in March that they were unable to work because of pandemic-related closures or lost business, 15.4 percent received at least some pay from their employer for the hours not worked, down from 20.3 percent in February.

Among those not in the labor force in March, 874,000 persons were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, down from 1.2 million in the prior month. (To be counted as unemployed, by definition, individuals must be either actively looking for work or on temporary layoff.)

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 431,000 in March, as job gains continued in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, and manufacturing. Overall, job growth averaged 562,000 per month in the first quarter of 2022, the same as the average monthly gain for 2021. However, employment is down by 1.6 million, or 1.0 percent, from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020.

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for January was revised up by 23,000, from +481,000 to +504,000, and the change for February was revised up by 72,000, from +678,000 to +750,000. With these revisions, employment in January and February combined is 95,000 higher than previously reported..."

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CHART: Nonfarm Payroll Employment
March 2022 Update

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CHART: U-3 (Headline) Unemployment Rate
March 2022 Update

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* = The U-6 Unemployment Rate is defined as:

"Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force."

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